5 Mistakes to Avoid in Brussels

Psssst, FYI - this post probably contains affiliate links, which means I earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) if you purchase from them. For the full scoop on what this means, feel free to check out my Privacy Policy and Disclosure.

I have to admit: I screwed up big time when I went to Brussels.

Let me start this post with a simple disclaimer though. The first time I visited this sugary Waffleland, I was no more than a beginner backpacker midway through her first long term trip. Unsurprisingly, mistakes were made, expectations ruined and illusions shattered…

The initial version of this post talked about how much I disliked the city, but now after two years of sober thought (and many more miles travelled), I’ve come to realize that I didn’t really give Brussels a proper chance. There were a lot of factors as to why Brussels wasn’t my favourite. For one, we were in town the day after a deadly museum shooting and the city was very much on edge, plus we were victims of our own poorly done research. We hooked onto solely the ‘touristy’ bits of Brussels, and wrongly compared it to other European capitals like Paris or London. Fact: this was the one leg of our backpacking trip where my travel partner completely lost it and broke down in tears because she was so miserable.

… we definitely did not do the city properly, I’ll tell you that.

So, in the spirit of helpful advice, I’d like to share the major mistakes I made in Brussels, and how you can avoid having a bad experience like me. Hint: Get some beer and waffles involved.

Mistake #1: Booking an overly long stay.

I was in Brussels for a total of 2.5 days. That doesn’t seem long, but in hindsight, that was my first big mistake. Many people will tell you that a day in Brussels is more than sufficient to see the city’s popular sights, and in my opinion, that advice is legitimate. If there are particular museums or sites that you are keenly interested in seeing (a list of museums can be found here), then perhaps a longer stay would make sense, but for many travellers, a day is more than enough.

To add to that, Brussels is quite small and you can reach most points of interest by walking. In fact, most major attractions can be visited during a single walking tour.

Mistake #2: Buying a transit pass.

Oh boy, this one was a huge fail of ours. We arrived in Brussels at 6am on an overnight bus. Getting off the bus, we were cold, tired and ridiculously confused about how to reach our hostel. To make it all worse, the train station was ghostly empty, apart from one creepo attendant who moved at a sloth-like pace and boasted a very odd fascination with China.

Fully consumed by the crankiness from a sleepless night, we had no patience for his weird questions about our heritage. He asked us over and over where in China we’d been, and explained how many cities in China he’s been to. We stood there for what felt like an eternity of strange banter, after which he strongly recommended the purchase of a Discover Brussels 48 hour card, which would give us access to Brussels’ entire transit network for 48 hours. We hesitated at first, but as tired and impressionable as we were, we bought them.

Let me tell you what a huge waste of money they were! We could walk to most areas of interest, and at one point, we even found ourselves transiting to far away locations (e.g. the Atomium) in order to justify the purchase of the pass. We actually declined a day trip to Ghent because we didn’t want the passes to be completely useless. In hindsight, this thing really held us back, and made us feel as if we had been ripped off, which was not great. I guess we could have just accepted the sunk cost, but as broke backpackers, that expense seemed hard to swallow at the time.

Mistake #3: Booking accommodations in a sketchy area.

This one seems pretty intuitive, but you have to keep in mind that because Brussels is small, even places advertised as being very close to the city centre can end up feeling like it’s the outskirts of town. We had picked one hostel for its centrality, but soon learned how unsafe that particular area was. During the 10 minute trek back to our rooms, we were stared at like pieces of meat by throngs of strange men just ‘hanging out’. It was the most uncomfortable I felt during that trip. After sunset is when a lot weird characters tend to emerge, so be sure to research thoroughly before you book a place. I tend to read very thorough reviews on websites like Booking.com before I commit to anything. Scope out the best deals online for Brussels hotels here.

Mistake #4: Having overly high expectations for the city’s tourist hotspots.

To be honest, I didn’t do a lot of thorough research when I chose to put Brussels on my itinerary. I saw a beautiful photo of the flower carpet at Grand Place once on Pinterest, and apparently that had been enough to sell me on the city. I probably should have done more research, because that carpet is only around for one week every two years. That week did not coincide with my visit, so needless to say, there was no flower carpet for me. Now, what was there to do in the city? Well, Brussels’ main tourist hotspots include the Mannekin Pis and the Atomium. Sadly, both were incredibly underwhelming to me, largely due to the high expectations I had set.

Let us be clear, the Mannekin Pis is literally a tiny statue of a peeing boy. With that description, it isn’t hard to imagine why countless tourists are disappointed daily at the tiny size of Brussels’ naked sweetheart. It regularly tops lists for most disappointing attractions in the world, so be prepared for that!

Other attractions, like Grand Place, were beautiful to look at, but at the end of the day, didn’t offer much to do besides a few nice photo opps. To avoid disappointment, I really recommend researching ‘things to see and do in Brussels’ prior to booking a trip, just to avoid any surprises. This is one of those cities where embracing a more local-recommended approach would be better than hopping from tourist sight to tourist sight, because some of the sights (as I mentioned) can be rather lackluster. Don’t be a dummy like me. Research properly!

On a side note though, one fun fact about the Manneken Pis is that he has hundreds of outfits that he dons periodically. These are said to be on display at the Museum of the City of Brussels. I was lucky enough to catch one of his cute outfits on my last day. Silly guy…

Mistake #5: Getting caught in a tourist trap restaurant.

Rue de Bouchers is a notorious little street in Brussels that is infamous for its pushy restauranteurs, inflated tourist prices and subpar food. As my tour guide emphasized, “this street is home to some of the worst restaurants in Brussels!” Unfortunately, because of their approachable English menus and scarily adamant staff, this street is a natural trap for tourists.

Now, to me, food is tremendously important. Without exaggeration, I truly believe that food has the potential to make or break a city. While I didn’t end up in one of the infamous restaurants of Rue de Bouchers, I did grab dinner at one of the many tourist establishments within Grand Place. I was dying of hunger though, and was willing to visit any place that was open for real food (waffles and beer can only take you so far).

I got some Flemish Carbonades, a traditional Belgian dish that is essentially beef cooked in beer. It was a decent tasting meal, but I knew that I was sitting in a tourist trap, with my dinky window view overlooking other tourists swarming Grand Place. So, I highly suggest researching good restaurants in Brussels before heading out for a meal. The last thing you want is to settle for meal that is both pricey and mediocre.

Overall, I am completely certain that my experience in Brussels would have been better under different circumstances. Many of the reasons why I didn’t have fun were caused by my own silly mistakes (e.g. booking an overnight bus to get there, buying an unnecessary transit pass, staying in a sketchy area, etc.) and so with that in mind, I hope this article saves you from doing the same! Let me know if you have had a more positive experience… I’d love to hear your stories!

This post contains some affiliate links that earn me a small commission but come at no extra cost to you. This helps keep the site running for awesome readers like you. Thanks as always for your support!

19 Responses

I guess we have very different opinions of the city – Brussels is actually one of my favorite cities that I’ve been to in Europe. Surprised that you did not think much of the Grand Place/Grote Markt, which is one of the most beautiful squares in western Europe. And yes, the Mannekin Pis is only a small statue, but it happens to be right across the street from a fantastic bar, Poechenellekelder, which despite its location, is a wonderfully authentic bar with actual locals. You’re right; Rue de Bouchers is TERRIBLE, but there are a ton of great restaurants in the city. Avoiding tourist traps/restaurants is key in any European city. And you didn’t mention the amazing beer, which can be drank in really cool pubs all over town.

I guess if Belgian food or beer isn’t your cup of tea, then Brussels becomes automatically less interesting. And while there’s not really that one place that you HAVE to go in Brussels (other than Grand Place), I found that there are very nice museums and sights all over town. I also really liked the people and the different neighborhoods. I’ve been to Brussels three times and I look forward to returning.

Really happy to hear you had a better experience than me in Brussels, Chris!! It’s been about 2 years since my visit and I’d definitely be up for giving it another go. Like I said in the post, a lot of my bad experiences in Brussels were my own fault, so I penned this post to steer others from doing the same 😉 I genuinely believe any city can be amazing if done correctly, so I’ll keep some of your notes in mind if I decide to go again. I did love the beer actually – was one of my favourite parts of the city! That and the waffles of course!! To clarify, I didn’t hate Brussels, I just wish I had done it a bit differently when I was there 🙂

I can see your point of view, as I was also a bit disappointed with Brussels in my first day there. I thought: Europe has a lot more nice looking cities than this one and there are many places with far more impressive architecture. Why is everyone praising Brussels then? Then, I went to visit everything that was in my travel guide, I experienced the food and the beer and I met a lot of locals who told me the city’s history. At that point, everything changed, and I begun seeing Brussels differently. For example, the buildings from the Grand Place all of a sudden weren’t just tall and shinny buildings, they told me the story of the bombardment of the French army, which took place in 1695. Although the French aimed at the Town Hall, the impressive building seemed unwilling to end it’s days of glory. Every place has it’s own story, and it’s own strengths. It’s up to us to put some effort in discovering them!

Thanks so much for your comment, Elena!! It makes me so happy that you enjoyed Brussels so much. Like I mentioned in the post, I really do feel like I could have done the city way better, but the stars just didn’t really align. I tried a walking tour but our guide was absolutely awful (and I’m pretty sure a little high on something haha) so I didn’t get a taste for the history and everything as you did. The one restaurant I was really excited to try happened to be closed the day I went, etc. etc. At the end of the day, it’s a place I’d like to try visiting again soon, hopefully with better results 🙂

I’m from Belgium and I think Brussels is beautiful. No we don’t have the Big Ben etc. but it is a beautiful city with beautiful (medieval) architecture. The Grand Place is for me one of the most beautiful squares in the world , definitely if you pay attention to the details in the medieval guild houses and the Town hall.

I really like Brussels, I lived and worked there for 3 months, yes they don’t have a Big Ben, they also don’t have the level of obnoxious commuters or people that frequent London or indeed the poor transport infrastructure.

Thanks for your blog.. well done .. as an expat in Brussels, i may testify that the Brussels is a city that yet turned into the 21st century barely the 20th century in many ways. Since there are many government provisions here and its after all known the ‘home of bureaucrats’. you may find good restaurants .. but does it seem funny that in the capital of Europe you don’t have 24/7 open supermarkets?in other words the law of operation states supermarket to be open from 5AM-8PM and yes its 2017:) .. and 2nd thing here people not tipping which cause a ‘bubble’ of restaurants in my opinion ‘lacking energy ‘ to satisfy you as a client. mostly food overpriced and won’t satisfy me. almost in anycase i could prepare it better than home.. except chinese and indian food. in both aspects i would never compare it tobig cities already visited such as London/Berlin/Tel aviv/Tokyo/Milan/Ny. etc etc..Brussels have lots of potential to get better but i believe its yet very far from reaching thanks to over-regulations/lazy

Very neat to get an expat’s perspective, Ido! I wasn’t there for very long, but I did get the sense that service wasn’t a huge priority at the restaurants I did go to (although I did eat near tourist attractions so they were probably just exhausted!) I do want to return to Brussels at some point and get a better feel for it, as lots of people have had positive experiences there. Plus there’s lots of cool places in Belgium to visit as well. Thanks for reading and leaving such a thoughtful comment 🙂

That;s true in my opinion Brussels is a beautiful place.. to experience the best of it i usually stay away from the city center a km southern you got very hip place with great resto’s. as well as Ave Louise, Uccle, Boisfort.
Dont forget also they City of Antwerp one day even two can be very interesting. many attraction usually the southern area and the docks area.
Gent is also very joyful.

thanks Paula! I hope you enjoy Belgium. I never went to Ghent and only visited Brussels, so sadly I don’t have any tips for a cross-country road trip BUT I’ve heard amazing things about Ghent, Bruges and Dinant. Of course, my tips for enjoying Brussels are in this post 😉 Have a safe trip!

So sorry you had a bad experience in Brussels! I totally agree that it’s a city that can best be visited with some tips by locals… even us Belgians don’t visit the Atomium :-).

However, Brussels is an amazing city when you know where to look though you have to know where you have to be at what time of the week!
– Place du Chatelain is AMAZING and an expat favourite location with its gorgeous buildings and cosy market… but you have to be there on a wednesday, otherwise it completely sucks.
– The Marolles: an eclectic neighbourhood with excellent antique market every sunday. There is an outdoor elevator which takes you to an amazing terrace and viewpoint.
– For a night out you go to the Matonge neighbourhood, it’s basically ‘little congo’ with a lot of very cool bars, restaurants… and close to Flagey which has some cultural highlights
– There is an amazing street art scene in Brussels dedicated to the millions of comic books our country has produced (and it’s free!)
– Le Grand Sablon is THE place to be for good restaurants!

Brussels can be such a gem if you know where to look 😉

I am working on a detailled Guido to visit Brussels but you can take a look at my suggested itinerary to make the most of a Brussels layover: https://bit.ly/BrusselsLayover

Marlo, I love all these suggestions!! These were the kinds of tips I was missing on my first trip – that’s for sure. It was my first ever backpacking trip and I honestly was so clueless about most things. Definitely want to go back and do Brussels properly though 🙂 thanks again for all these great tips!

Hi!! So I’m not sure of the neighbourhood’s name but the hostel I stayed at was Hostel2GO4. Not too far from Grand Place. It was alright during the day but once the sun went down, walking back felt quite sketchy – just my experience though!

So uh, you come here often? ;)

Hi! My name is Christina Guan and I'm a clumsy Canadian who is obsessed with seeing the world. When I'm not frolicking abroad, you'll likely find me faceplanting into burrito bowls & doing important work in my Monsters Inc onesie. New to the blog and my very lame jokes? Click here to visit my Start Here page!